Thursday, November 5, 2015

Syrian in central Europe

Just got back from the Mikulov in the Czech Republic, where I joined the Euro Bird
Portal meetings, that were part of a EBAA / PECBMS workshop, hosted
by the Czech Society for Ornithology. The meetings were very good and
productive. It is great to know that there is such a dedicated and talented
team across Europe, completely engaged in applying monitoring data into
conservation. I feel privileged to be part of this family.

Mikulov is a sweet little town in southern Moravia, and I enjoyed
walking through its streets and parks. I had little time for birding with Nick
from BTO. Nick was very keen to see Syrian Woodpecker. I was, ehmm, less
bothered about the woodpecker but just enjoyed a nice walk that was quite birdy
in fact. And I did appreciate his enthusiasm to see the woodpecker. Nick managed to double score with a couple of peckers that showed well!
Bring it on! Otherwise there were quite many finches around, including Hawfinch,
Brambling and Siskin.

Red Squirrels are lovely animals – not easy to see in the UK but common
in central Europe: